Medical Jobs in Canada
Wavelength International provides global recruitment and locum services for medical and allied health professionals, as well as healthcare employers.
Canada is a destination that has always attracted health professionals from around the world, drawn by its natural beauty, high standard of living and the quality of its health services.
The information below provides you with comprehensive information to assist you in making the important career and lifestyle decision to relocate to Canada.
For more information contact Richard Taylor directly on rtaylor@medicaljobscanada.ca
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About Canada
The expanse of Canada's natural beauty, from mountains and glaciers to secluded lakes and forests, is almost unparalleled worldwide. Few countries boast the number and range of natural wonders as Canada that includes the Rocky Mountains and Niagara Falls. But Canada's allure is not just the great outdoors, Canada has cosmopolitan cities that are clean, safe, friendly and multicultural and is repeatedly lauded as one of the world's most livable countries. Whether your interests are river rafting or live theatre, Canada won’t disappoint.
With a population of 34 million Canada is the world’s second largest country by surface area, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean on the East to the Pacific Ocean on the West. However about three-quarters of Canada's population live within 150 kilometres of the United States border with a similar proportion living in urban areas.
A federation comprising ten provinces and three territories, Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. One of the world’s highly developed countries, Canada is a bilingual (English and French are both official languages) and multicultural country. It is also one of the world's wealthiest nations, with a diversified economy, reliant upon its abundant natural resources and trade.
Unsurprisingly, Canadians make up the largest ethnic group, just under a third of the population, with large English and French populations. European ethnic groups make up the majority of the rest of the population although there is, given the size of overall population, a large Asian community.
Languages other than the two official languages are significant in Canada, with over six million people listing one as a first language. Some of the most common non-official first languages include Chinese (mainly Cantonese) and Punjabi.
77.1% of Canadians identify as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group (43.6% of Canadians). The largest non-Christian religious group is Islam, numbering 1.9% of the population.
Average winter and summer temperatures across Canada vary depending on the location. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the Prairie (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near -15 °C (5 °F). Coastal British Columbia is an exception; it enjoys a temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter.
On the east and west coast, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 °C (75 to 85 °F), with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding 40 °C (104 °C).
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Canada's Healthcare System
Canada's has a publicly funded health care system, known to Canadians as "medicare", designed to ensure that all residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services, on a prepaid basis. Instead of having a single national plan, they have a national program that is composed of 13 interlocking provincial and territorial health insurance plans, all of which share certain common features and basic standards of coverage, all framed under the Canada Health Act.
Provincial and territorial governments are responsible for the management, organization and delivery of health services for their residents.
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Provincial Healthcare Delivery
Typically each Province or Territory is divided into Regional Health Authorities (RHAs). These Regional Health Authorities play a central role in administering healthcare for their population. Each RHA will work with representatives of their hospitals and medical centres to ensure they are able to provide the appropriate services to the community. The RHA will also have someone responsible for Physician recruitment across the region. This individual plays a central role in delivering recruitment solutions to the hospitals and medical centres. It is rare, but not uncommon, for there to be someone at a Provincial level playing a central role in supporting physician recruitment throughout the Province. This doesn’t preclude the individual hospitals or medical centres managing their own recruitment.
Most RHAs will employ both Family and Specialist Physicians, but in some very remote regions they may rely solely on Family Physicians. Family Physicians practice in solo or group practice in rural or urban settings. The majority of general practitioners/family medicine practitioners in Canada work in group practice with less than one third of all family practitioners working in solo practice. Group practices are especially common outside urban areas where there is usually a greater distance from major hospitals and from a pool of specialists. In very remote areas Family Physicians can play a far greater clinical role than traditional GPs including delivering babies, anaesthesia, helping in the operating room and advanced procedural skills, such as setting broken bones. Due to the remote nature of parts of Canada, it is not uncommon for an RHA to only employ Family Physicians but for these to have a high degree of specialty training (Emergency; Obs/Gyn etc).
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Working in Canada
Medical Licensure in Canada
In Canada, each provincial and territorial government is responsible for licensing physicians to practice medicine within its boundaries. Generally for Canadians, licensure to practice medicine in Canada requires the completion of an accredited postgraduate training program, as well as the completion of national qualifying and certification exams. Each individual province and territory will have different requirements.
Medical Council of Canada (MCC)
Upon successful completion of the MCCQE Part I (a series of 4 theory examinations) and MCCQE Part II (a practical examination, the Physician receives the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC), and is included in the Canadian Medical Register. The LMCC is a prerequisite that provincial and territorial medical regulatory authorities require for a Canadian medical graduate to obtain a license to practice medicine in their jurisdiction.
The MCC does not confer licensure to practice medicine, the issuance of such being a function of the medical regulatory authorities. The MCC also has no role in the certification or registration of physicians as specialists.
Certification
Physicians are required to obtain certification from the appropriate certifying body:
• College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)
• Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ)
Family Physicians: To receive certification by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), Canadian graduates must complete a two-year postgraduate family medicine training program and pass the College certification examination.
Specialists: For certification in a specialty of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), Canadian graduates must successfully complete a postgraduate training program in that specialty (four or more years) and pass the certification exam.
With regards to International Medical Graduates, Canadian Colleges (Certifying and Licensing) generally only recognise specialist qualifications and postgraduate training from the USA, UK & Ireland, Australia & NZ.
Provincial Registration
Each Province and Territory will have different levels of registration. Full registration will generally require the completion of LMCC and CFPC or RCPSC certification. In general, most Provinces and Territories will offer a time-defined provisional, temporary or conditional license for International Medical Graduates (IMGs).
Depending on the province/territory, provisional, temporary or conditional licensure may involve:
• Licentiate (or part thereof) of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC)
• language proficiency tests (IELTS; TOEFL etc)
• credentialing (see PCRC section below)
• postgraduate training/assessment (CAPE etc)
• return-of-service agreements (practicing in a underserviced community for an agreed upon period of time)
This short-term registration will generally have a defined timeframe within which you will be required to complete full relevant LMCC and CFPC/RCPSC requirements if you have the intention of practicing long-term or permanently.
A general rule of thumb when it comes to Provincial medical registration is the more sought after the Province, the stricter the eligibility criteria !
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Payment Approaches
Physician payment is negotiated and administered separately by the ten provincial and three territorial governments, using different funding arrangements. Typically there are two payments approaches: salaried or fee-for-service. Dependent on the Provincial or Territorial government, this will likely be at the discretion of the employer, although on occasions the Physician himself may be able to request a specific payment approach. Fixed salaries tend to have firm structures and bandings.
Most Regional Health Authorities offer full relocation assistance for relocation Doctors and, depending on the Province, there can also be Provincial assistance. Often generous provisional incentives, including funding to assist setting up a Practice, will also be offered, particularly in remote areas. Most Provinces will also typically offer retention bonuses which become more lucrative the longer the physician remains in the Province.
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